----- Original Message -----
From: LAURENT CHEKROUN ()
At: Apr 11 2014 13:29:24
Japan PM Abe to See BOJ Kuroda This Month—Sources
Plan Comes as Associates Warn Japan's Economy Could Face Danger
TOKYO—Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe recently told people close to him that he is planning to see Bank of Japan Gov. Haruhiko Kuroda this month to discuss monetary policy, people familiar with the matter said.
Mr. Abe's plan comes as many of his close associates warn that Japan's economy could face danger if policy makers underestimate the potential damage from a higher sales-tax rate that went into effect April 1. The best way to fight headwinds from the tax rise would be for the BOJ to expand its monetary easing program, they say.
It wasn't clear in what setting Mr. Abe planned to see Mr. Kuroda, but if the two hold an official one-on-one meeting, it would mark the first since December last year. Before the December meeting, the two held such a meeting in June 2013. They regularly see each other in group settings, such as meetings to discuss the government's monthly economic reports.
The first of the BOJ's two policy board meetings this month ended Tuesday. The people familiar with the matter said Mr. Abe expressed his intention to see Mr. Kuroda by the time the BOJ holds its next policy-board meeting, scheduled for April 30.
Based on local media accounts of Mr. Abe's daily schedule, the two haven't met in recent days. They could also meet privately without an announcement. A representative of Mr. Kuroda declined to comment. A spokeswoman for the prime minister's office said she wasn't aware of any planned meeting.
Pressure on the BOJ has increased this week after comments by Mr. Kuroda rejecting imminent easing steps helped send Tokyo stock markets tumbling. The yen's value has also rebounded, making Japanese exports less price competitive.
"If there is any unexpected economic pullback, monetary policy will be the one to play the leading role," Etsuro Honda, a close economic adviser to Mr. Abe, said in a recent interview with The Wall Street Journal.
Any direct talks between Messrs. Abe and Kuroda could fuel the guessing game over whether and when the central bank will expand easing steps. A majority of economists say the bank will act this year, most likely in the summer. The BOJ has pledged to generate 2% inflation by spring 2015.
Mr. Abe himself has been one of the leading voices favoring a reflationary policy that relies heavily on the BOJ flooding banks with cash. A group of economists led by Nobuyuki Nakahara, a former Bank of Japan policy board member, visited Mr. Abe's office earlier this month, spending more than 90 minutes with him. Mr. Nakahara is among those urging aggressive BOJ action.